Chapter 1
This was bad. Really bad!
It wasn’t just the heat and humidity that had Ivy on edge. Nor could she attribute the bad feeling down to the fact that her boots were wet, her feet sinking into the muck underneath her. Oh, and Ivy didn’t even want to think about the possibility of leeches hiding in the mud. She could handle snakes and bugs, but leeches…nope!
Ivy pressed her back against the rough trunk of the tree, ignoring the pain when a thorn – or something – digging into the delicate skin between her shoulder blades. That pain was much easier than what these men might do to her if she were…
“Disini!” someone called out.
…discovered, she thought with a silent groan.
The miserable, frightening horror that hit her as a voice called out, “Over here!” almost caused her to squeak out loud. She kept quiet though, in the off chance that she hadn’t been discovered. But when strong, filthy hands yanked her out of her leaf-covered hiding place, she knew she’d been found and the situation shifted from “dire and scary” to “I wish I weren’t here”. Yep, her day just kept getting worse.
Maybe the broken heel on her favorite shoe this morning didn’t count. That kind of problem was more along the lines of “Hey – I can’t find my Chapstick” versus, “Why is this guy pointing a gun at my face?” and not bad enough to rank. Not when one applied logic and put everything else that had gone wrong into perspective. Getting caught by a group of lawless, Indonesian bandits ranked way higher on the “Bad Day Scale”. So much higher on that scale as to make a broken heel seem laughable.
As soon as the disgusting hands started to drag her away, she panicked. She didn’t want to be captured and tortured. And she really didn’t want to be this group of bandits’ exotic dancer for the night – or any other kind of dancer, for that matter. She was just about to start screaming when, at that precise moment, the deliciously dark brown eyes of a certain Navy SEAL popped into her head. She might truly hate Daisy’s brother Gunner with an intensity that bordered on the obsessive, but he’d given her, Marilee, and Daisy lessons in self-defense. During those lessons, he’d covered this type of scenario many times and Ivy had loved trying to best the big guy.
How many times had he laughed at her in the gym when she’d tried to bring him down, only to find herself flat on her back or…or in some other outrageous position with him on top of her? Yeah, the enormous brute loved to challenge her. So far during his “mandatory” self-defense classes, he’d always won, but she was getting better. She might not have brought him down yet, but she wasn’t such an easy target any longer. Gunner had taught her some nasty moves that she’d been hesitant to try on him or any of his SEAL buddies that came home with him for holidays or long weekends. But now…with the bandit’s grimy hands sliding over her body, ostensibly searching for weapons but really, the little man was just copping a feel…she was grateful for all of those lessons. She was going to have to thank Gunner, even though she’d rather eat leeches.
Remembering everything Gunner had taught her, she carefully scanned the vicious-looking group of men standing around, acting like they’d just accomplished a moon landing. Meanwhile, she counted heads, gauged their fitness levels and their organizational capabilities, not to mention the discipline of the group. Three men, she counted, scanning the area carefully so they didn’t realize what she was doing. Yeah, she could take on three men. Gunner might be the most annoying, obnoxious, irritating jerk she’d ever met, but he was six feet, six inches of muscles bound together with testosterone and bad jokes, most of them directed at her. She knew he did it just to annoy her. The man was just…
Okay, not a good time to berate the man, she told herself.
Mentally chastising herself, she focused back on her current predicament, promising herself lots of extra Gunner-bashing time later.
Hiding from these idiots hadn’t worked. Time for plan B. Ivy wasn’t completely sure what Plan B would be, but she remembered what Gunner had taught her, she’d figure it out.
Shaking away her irritation over Gunner and his teasing, she focused, counting heads again. Yep, still only three men. Three men who were shorter than she was, which wasn’t such a surprise, actually. At five feet, nine inches, she was taller than a lot of men. Not towering over them, but tall enough to intimidate most of them.
And thankfully, she wasn’t built like Marilee, who was obviously female with her lush double D breasts and her pretty, soft cheeks. Nope, Ivy was tall and slender with barely-there breasts. Oh, they were there. But just…not obvious.
Her height and her lack of obvious breasts were helpful for the first time in her life. The men weren’t overly interested in her, but they seemed to be unusually worried about her camera, for some reason.
They were arguing about something, but they were speaking too quickly. She couldn’t translate fast enough. What in the world?
“Itu hanya gambar bunga!” she slowly stated, probably slaughtering the pronunciation as she explained she’d “only taken pictures of flowers”. One man, possibly the leader, looked at her curiously. His grubby fingers yanked the camera out of the other bandit’s hands and started pressing buttons. “Please!” she gasped, cringing as the man pressed so many buttons, she feared he would delete the pictures she’d meticulously captured over the past few days. Ivy had come out here to this particular spot in the sweltering jungle, wanting to catch the light exactly right for one specific flower. It bloomed only every few years, and only when the temperatures and precipitation were perfect. It had taken four days of trekking out here through the heat, humidity, and mud to catch the lighting at the perfect angle and intensity so that it highlighted the amazing colors and peculiar shadows of the flower. There were other pictures she’d taken along the route of different flowers. There was even been a pretty field of flowers that were like poppies, but were something else. Something she’d never seen before.
She didn’t want to lose any of her precious pictures just because a group of gross, sweaty idiots thought she was doing something wrong. She had worked too hard! Today was her last day in Indonesia, and she was more than ready to go home. Cringing when the guy pressed a few more buttons, she prayed that the pictures wouldn’t be deleted. The flower, the light, the shadows…she’d worked so hard! She’d waited an extra few weeks to come, just so that particular flower would be in full bloom and what she’d captured had been extraordinary!
And now, just because some idiot renegades with too many weapons and not enough brains had caught her, all of her work was going to be erased by grubby, revolting hands that probably hadn’t seen soap in months.
Then the guy froze, looking at one of the pictures and cocked his head. He called over another man, one she hadn’t seen before, and showed him the picture. This guy was a bit bigger and definitely uglier, with more filth on his face but slightly better clothes than the others. He frowned at the picture -not the one of the special flower but a brightly lit image she’d taken of the field of flowers on the perimeter of the jungle. Then he looked up at her.
Ivy’s stomach clenched with dread.
Remembering what Gunner had taught her, she remained as calm as possible. “Itu hanya gambar bunga,” she repeated. “They are just pictures of flowers.” What was the issue?
“Bawa dia!” the new guy snapped, stuffing her camera back into the canvas bag and tossing it over his shoulder. “Letakkan dia dengan yang lainnya.”
Ivy spoke Spanish and French fluently, a bit of Italian, and a smattering of other languages, including Indonesian. But she wasn’t even close to being fluent in the difficult language. She’d learned enough for this trip to explain her actions, find a bathroom, restaurant or her hotel and get directions. But she understood enough words to know that the guy in charge said to “take her” and something about “others”.
From worse to worse-er still!
The guy standing guard behind her shoved her forward and, once she regained her balance, she twisted around, looking down at him. He was at least six inches shorter than she was, and Ivy was certain that she could take him. But she waited, biding her time until she had an obvious escape plan.
Four of them, now. Yeah, she might not like Gunner in any way, but he’d taught her well. She knew she could take at least two of them down with the kicks he’d taught her. And then run. Unfortunately, she wasn’t exactly sure where she would run. After hiding, she’d lost track of her pathway back to civilization.
Not something she would admit to Gunner. “Always be aware,” he’d lectured the three of them during his training sessions. “Always know where you are.” Blah blah blah. Yeah, she might be mocking him in her head, but deep down inside…hmmm…maybe not so deep down at the moment…she knew that he was right.
Thankfully, the men hadn’t tied her hands. She wasn’t sure why, but she was grateful. It would be better if she could somehow get her camera bag back, but the expensive equipment wasn’t worth her life. If she could get away, she’d run, leaving her bag behind in a heartbeat.
Then she saw the truck and swallowed painfully. A truck wasn’t good. A truck meant…
She didn’t wait any longer. She couldn’t. A truck meant she would be taken somewhere else. Somewhere far away. Time for action, she decided. Not wanting to act precipitously, she waited another few steps, gauging their movement and positions as the four of them traipsed through the jungle.
The ragtag group was only about fifty feet from the truck when she saw her opportunity.
With a twist, she brought her leg out and tripped Gross-Dude Number One, who was holding her arm, then spun around so that she smacked her elbow into his nose - hard. He went down with a soft thud into the muck of the jungle floor!
Gross-Dude Number Two was too slow to react. So gave Ivy several precious seconds to prepare her next attack as he stared blankly at his colleague. Thinking fast, she swung, slamming her heel into his stomach. While he was bent over, gasping for breath, she twisted again, smashing her boot heel into his face.
Gross-Dude Number Two down.
She didn’t wait for the other two. She took off at a dead run. Moments later, bullets zinged by her head so she ducked, weaving through the jungle leaves, dodging behind trees as best she could.
Ivy had no idea where she was going. Her direction was simply “away”. Away from the men shooting at her. Away from the truck that would have taken her some place bad. Away from the flying bullets.
Ignoring the painful stitch in her side and her burning lungs, she hurried, ducking and dodging, zigzagging so the remaining bandits couldn’t aim as easily. No, Gunner hadn’t taught her to shift and dodge, but she’d looked it up. She’d read everything she could about Navy SEAL training. Not because she liked the guy or anything like that. She wasn’t interested in what he was going through, she told herself as she ducked behind another tree. She’d looked up training techniques because she wanted to beat him. Just once, she wanted to knock that guy on his butt.
Now her research was coming in handy, she thought as the voices faded, the bullets stopping. She was too far away now for their weapons, but still, she ran. Hard. Fast. The whole time, she kept thinking about Gunner and what he might do if he were in this kind of a situation.
Thankfully, her training kicked in and she was able to keep on running when others probably would have been gasping for breath.
When she wasn’t traveling the world, taking pictures of interesting things she saw through her camera lens, she lived in LowPoint, Kentucky and she loved running, doing it every day. Ivy could lose herself in a long run, just relaxing into the effort. Whenever possible, she ran up the mountain pathways which almost encircled LowPoint. When there was too much snow on the ground, she ran along the highway into Louisville. Whenever she heard that Gunner was coming into town, she’d leave, flying off to some distant place. But when she wasn’t fast enough or when her friend, Daisy, didn’t give her enough warning, she’d go off on long runs to stay out of Gunner’s path. She ran to avoid seeing his big, glorious shoulders or those monstrously huge muscles. And she ran so that he couldn’t find her. Ivy ran to ignore her fury at his constant teasing and…well, she ran in order to ignore the fascinating pull of his broad shoulders and massive chest.
Slowing down, Ivy paced herself. She had run marathons in the past and knew how to breathe, knew how to regulate her pace in order to go the distance. Jungles weren’t paved streets, but the concepts were the same. The men in the grungy uniforms didn’t look to be well fed or in shape, but that didn’t stop her. They knew the terrain and she didn’t. They had a vehicle. She was on foot. She had food in her pockets and money hidden in the seams, but she had no idea where she was. So having food might be fine, but if she was running into an unknown area, she didn’t have enough food. And money wouldn’t help her if no one was around to exchange it for help.
Ivy ignored all of those issues, focusing on the higher priority of not getting caught!
Chapter 2
“You’re late!” his commanding officer snapped.
Gunner didn’t respond, even though he wasn’t late. He was right on time, actually. But in his CO’s mind, even on time meant one wasn’t prepared and, as a Navy SEAL, his team always needed to be prepared. “Won’t happen again, sir,” he replied, taking his seat in the briefing room.
“We’re going in here.” The CO, Commander Mick Hanson began, using a pointer to indicate a tiny, remote island in the Indonesian islands. There was a universal groan as the team absorbed the news. Nothing good ever happened in that area of the world. Indonesia was a gorgeous place, if one stayed in the tourist areas. Step out of those areas, especially to one of the remote islands, and you were begging for trouble. Unfortunately, trouble always found you.
“We received confirmation that a scientist has been captured, but no ransom has been demanded.” Gunner mentally shook his head. The guy was probably already dead if a ransom hadn’t been issued. Why the hell were they going in? The man’s body would eventually turn up.
The CO continued, “This scientist was gathering vital information on a new plant species that has properties that the scientific community doesn’t understand, but the current chatter is that this plant’s pollen could easily be weaponized. The flower wasn’t in bloom until this past week and…”
Gunner’s mind whirled as his commanding officer continued. Daisy had said something about Ivy waiting for a flower to bloom. Just thinking about the stunningly beautiful woman made his body go on high alert. He quickly suppressed his body’s reaction and tried to focus, but whenever he thought about the gorgeous woman, his mind stripped her naked, the need making him throb.
Surely it wasn’t the same flower, he told himself.
“There’s a possibility of other Americans being held captive as well, but that isn’t confirmed yet. Our target is this scientist and his family, getting them out of that area and protecting the data he’s gathered.”
Gunner itched to pull his phone out to contact Daisy. He’d text Ivy directly, but unless he really pissed her off, she ignored his texts now. Damn, the woman made him crazy…in so many ways!
Focusing back on the mission, he listened carefully, taking in every detail possible. If he actually found Ivy in this mess, he was going to spank her sexy butt!
But then he pushed that thought out of his mind as well because the idea turned him on too much.
“Madman!”
Gunner focused on his CO. “Yes sir?”
“You’re going in here,” Commander Henson explained, pointing to a place on the map. “We think this is the area where the others are being held captive,” he explained and brought up a satellite image of a compound consisting of four large buildings along with several smaller ones and a variety of vehicles that had seen better days. Never trust the looks of a vehicle out there though. They might look like they were dilapidated piles of metal, but surprisingly, many could plow through the jungle easily enough. The lack of organization of those vehicles meant one of two things, either the rebels were completely disorganized and had parked haphazardly because they had no discipline, or they understood the strategic benefits of parking their vehicles in a random pattern so they couldn’t be destroyed easily. Either possibility created its own challenges. “You’ll set up distraction points here, here, and here,” Henson instructed, pointing to three different areas.
Gunner didn’t write anything down. He’d already memorized the layout and was mentally compiling a list of supplies. “Got it, sir,” he replied.
“When we have the target out, you will knock down trees in this area, blocking their chase.”
Gunner once again nodded, eagerly anticipating the mission now. Explosives were his thing. They didn’t call him “Madman” for nothing. He was an explosives expert and could rig a charge that was so small it wasn’t detectable from ten feet away, or he could set up explosives that would be seen from planes flying overhead. He knew how to create a chain reaction that would completely destroy a line of vehicles so that there were only metal fragments left behind, or he could set off a set of charges that would silently disable every vehicle in a predetermined radius. Whatever was needed, he could do it. Some missions took a bit more finesse and others allowed his prowess to create a massive explosion.
In this mission, it seemed that a middle ground would be needed. Not a problem!
Twenty minutes later, the entire team was hot-footing it into the belly of a cargo plane, supplies were rolled in and secured. Five minutes later, the plane was taking off but it wouldn’t land. It was midday at the moment. But once they reached their destination, they would fly high and the team of Navy SEALS would jump out of the plane, landing in a pre-determined area, supplies on their backs or in the crates strapped to the sides of the plane.
Gunner followed his team to the mesh seats, listening to the teasing and laughter. It was a gauge of the tension in the group - the rougher the teasing, the higher the tension. Right now, the tension was low. The team of twelve would jump out of the plane into the heavy jungle, survey the compound, wait for their moment, extract the target, and get out again via the beach where the rest of the team would be waiting just off shore for extraction.
Just another day at the office.
Unfortunately, Gunner’s gut was telling him this wasn’t just another mission. Somehow, he knew that Ivy was involved.
Once they were in flight, Gunner made his way towards the CO and his second in command, Lieutenant Caleb Wilson. Both men were big and tough, they had to be in order to make it through SEAL training. But these guys were brutes, although not as big as Gunner. He had a couple of inches on everyone else in the company, although some of the guys might match him in muscle weight.
“Sir, I have a,” he barely paused as he told the fib, “friend that might be in that area. I know we go radio silent during missions, but I’d like permission to try and contact this person. If she’s there, she might be able to give us some intel.”
He waited while the CO and LT exchanged a look. Finally, CO turned back to Gunner. “Would this ‘friend’ happen to be a tall, leggy brunette who turns you into a pain in the ass every time you come back from a visit with your sister?” he asked.
Gunner ignored the LT’s chuckle because, well hell, he was right. “One and the same, sir,” he replied with a curt nod.
The LT shook his head. “I don’t think I want you pissed off when handling explosives.”
Gunner understood that, but shook his head. “You know me, sir. I’m always careful,” and he held up his hands, showing all ten digits still in place. It was one of the clues in dangerous territories to find people with missing fingers. Either they stole something and the local authorities had cut off fingers or toes as punishment and a lesson to others, or the person had lost the finger or thumb while building an explosive device. Most of the people in dangerous regions who were in charge of making bombs hadn’t received the specialized training he had.
They both chuckled, and shared a significant look. A nod was conveyed before the LT looked at Gunner while the CO went back to studying the map. “Make the call. Let us know what you find out.”
Gunner moved over to one of the mesh chairs anchored against the wall of the plane. No first class seating here, he thought as he pulled a satellite phone from one of the holders. He dialed the number he knew by heart as he sat down and waited. Ringing. More ringing. No answer.
Hanging up, he dialed his sister’s number. Daisy answered on the first ring and, from the sound of her voice, Gunner instantly knew something was wrong.
“Daisy, what’s going on?” he demanded in a low voice.
There was a long silence, followed by a sob. “I can’t reach Ivy and she hasn’t checked in.”
Instantly, his body tightened. “For how long?” he asked, knowing that Daisy, Ivy, Marilee, and Tony were tight. The four of them were like siblings, and Gunner had eventually grown to feel that way about Tony and Marilee too. But not Ivy. Nope, the feelings he had for that leggy, sexy, amazing woman were about as far away from sibling affection as one could get.
“Three days,” she admitted.
Gunner muttered a curse under his breath. “Daisy, when I see you again, we’re going to have a long conversation about the point of a daily check-in,” he warned with gritted teeth. “In the meantime, tell me where she was, what she was doing, and everything you know about her trip.”
He moved to the map spread out on several crates and took a pen, jotting down notes. They weren’t detailed, but as soon as he wrote something down, both the CO and LT understood the information and used it to refine their plans. Their silent nods, scribbled numbers, and hand signals communicated information back and forth, so that Daisy wouldn’t know what was going on or where they were. Daisy wouldn’t intentionally say anything to anyone about his missions, but he never revealed anything to his sister, knowing that even the smallest detail of his whereabouts could put her in danger.
As a lottery winner with more than two hundred million dollars in the bank, and probably more because she didn’t spend much so the investments her business manager had made on her behalf kept the money growing, meant that his little sister was already a target. Thankfully, he’d taught her enough about survival that she understood even when he didn’t say anything. Plus, he’d taught her to defend herself. Not against bullets, but Daisy could handle herself against an attacker.
Thankfully, Daisy and Marilee might look soft and sweet, but don’t mess with either of them. They were a whole lot tougher than they looked. Ivy, on the other hand, was…she was gorgeous and strong and vibrant and…drove him crazy!
Tony sparred with Gunner whenever he came to the Norfolk area or when Gunner arrived home. When Tony stopped by to visit Gunner in Virginia, Gunner brought his SEAL buddies into the mix and now, Tony was a powerhouse.
But Ivy…well, she was different. Yeah, he’d taught her everything she’d let him teach her but…she was just…different. Her strength and confidence was a total turn-on, but he didn’t like the thought of her being in danger.
Impatiently, he glanced at his watch, calculating how much time before he was on the ground, searching for the sexy hellion.
Chapter 3
Ivy wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking at the compound. This wasn’t good, she thought.
After losing the bandits in the jungle, she’d eventually circled back, finally finding the area where the truck had been parked. Because of the wet ground, it was an easy task to follow the tire tracks back to the compound.
In an ideal world, she would have found civilization, reported the bandits to the authorities, and gone home. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an ideal world. Not by a long shot. After running for about five miles, she’d turned and circled back. Thankfully, the truck hadn’t gone far, maybe only another three miles. So in total, she’d barely traveled a total of more than thirteen miles today. On a slow morning, she ran that before breakfast.
But this wasn’t Kentucky and her jungle boots weren’t the best for long distance running, although they’d done an excellent job of protecting her feet. If she could have walked out of the jungle, she would have done so. No pathway to civilization appeared, so Plan C…or was she on Plan D now? She wasn’t sure …but her current plan was to steal one of the small trucks and drive out of the jungle.
That had been her plan, at least. But as soon as she’d arrived, she’d seen others prisoners. In good conscience, she couldn’t leave them. Not when it appeared that these people had been held here for a while. Their clothes were tattered, filthy and, even from a distance, she could tell that the people hadn’t been treated well.
She needed to go back, find help. But she had no idea where she was. Her camera bag contained her compass, emergency satellite phone, and the smaller emergency supplies she always carried on her when she traveled.
On the upside, she’d gotten away from her would-be captors. On the downside, there were others in the compound and she was determined to help them while she figured out how to get everyone out of this area.
Leave, she thought. Go find help. She wasn’t trained to save these people. Unlike…
No! Gunner was thousands of miles away and he made her crazy anyway! Besides, she’d never had to rely on another person for help in her life. Emotional support? Yeah, absolutely! Ivy considered Marilee, Daisy, and Tony her family and loved them as much.
But she wasn’t the type to wait around for someone else to fix a situation.
If she could sneak her bag away, she might be able to call Gunner’s commanding officer, or someone else, to let them know that there were Americans being held captive here, but she wasn’t sure they would come. Ivy wasn’t even sure if the Indonesian authorities would step in to help. She suspected it was a way of life here. In some parts of the world, ransoming off tourists was a steady income. There were some areas of Indonesia one didn’t go into for that reason. It was a bit like New York City or Chicago. Or any big city. There were some places one didn’t go because they were too dangerous.
Ivy fully acknowledged that she shouldn’t be here either. But the flower!
No, Ivy knew that not even pictures of that stupid flower were worth what she was dealing with now. It might be rare, but that wasn’t enough of a reason to do anything stupid.
Biting her lip, she looked around, wondering if she could hot wire one of the vehicles and use it to get out of here to find help. Hot wiring was one thing she hadn’t needed Gunner to teach her. She’d learned that skill from one of her teenage boyfriends and was an expert on how to hotwire cars. Of course, he was in prison now due to his youthful enthusiasm for his trade. In fact, that little journey into the criminal world had convinced her to take the waitressing job at Janice’s diner years ago. It had been a horrible job because Janice, the owner, was one of the most unethical people she’d ever met. But working as a waitress had kept her out of prison. And it wasn’t as if she’d had a whole lot of options back then. Now, she had millions of dollars in a bank earning interest. Now, she had options.
Well, her present predicament sort of negated that statement, she thought as she munched on a protein bar and watched from her hiding place. Janice had stolen their tips, docked their pay for bogus reasons, and denied them overtime pay.
But the diner had also been the place where she’d met her best friends Tony, Daisy, and Marilee. If she hadn’t worked there, they wouldn’t have bought that lottery ticket on Tony’s twenty-first birthday, they wouldn’t have won that enormous jackpot and she wouldn’t have more than two hundred million in the bank and investments. And she wouldn’t have been able to afford traveling to different countries, photographing the most amazing places.
Also, she wouldn’t be in this position, sweating in a stinking jungle after having escaped these idiot rebels.
Okay, so maybe she needed a break from the traveling. This was really getting old, she thought. Ivy frowned, realizing that she’d been having that thought a lot over the past several months. But after years of traveling, she was growing weary of anonymous hotel rooms and dining alone. She’d visited the most amazing places but…Ivy wanted a home. She wanted something more than her one bedroom loft over her gallery in LowPoint, Kentucky. She wanted a real home with kids and a husband. A husband that was NOT Gunner Marks! She munched on her plastic flavored protein bar and contemplated her future husband. He would be kind, sweet, and non-muscular. Probably a runner like her, but that wasn’t a requirement. Sure, it would be nice to have someone who could keep up with her, but…well yeah, Gunner could keep up, but he didn’t count. Not even a little!
Focusing on the task at hand, she considered her options. Her number one priority was to get her bag back. If she could do that, she could figure out where she was, and call for help. Barring that, she wanted to free those hostages. They were held in a hut and guarded by only one guy so far. The guard wasn’t overly attentive, he seemed to be snoozing at the moment.
Getting the hostages out would be a whole lot easier by truck than by foot. Ultimate priority, Ivy had to get out of here, even if she went on her own and sent help back for the hostages.
Maybe she could sneak up to the camp and get that one jeep by the edge of the compound, push it down the dirt road a ways so that the engine wouldn’t alert anyone. Or if they did hear it when she started it up, she’d be too far away for them to catch her.
Yeah, she liked that plan!
Looking up, she estimated that it was only a couple more hours until the sun set. Ivy figured she’d wait until the inevitable drinking and partying began, then sneak in when they passed out. The compound had guards, but she’d watch and learn, figure out which of the guards were lazy. She suspected that most of them would fall asleep at their posts.
Looking around, she carefully searched the area for bugs, reptiles, or other hidden icky things, and found a good spot to observe. Taking out another protein bar, she nibbled on the end but put it away without finishing it. Since she had no idea where she was, she had no idea how long it would take her to get back to civilization. Ivy knew to eat sparingly which was easier since her stomach had given up groaning from hunger.
Oh, what she would do for a cold shower right about now. Settling in, she thought about what she would do as soon as she reached her hotel. She was staying in the penthouse suite, which had a huge bathtub. She’d shower away the jungle stench that was now clinging to every pore of her body and shampoo her hair three times then slide into the tub and stay there for hours! A bottle of wine, a huge meal, and afterward, Ivy would crawl between the clean, crisp, white sheets and sleep for days. Weeks!
After she sent a message to Daisy, Marilee, and Tony. Most likely, they would be worried sick by now. She was always careful about sending them daily messages, letting them know she was okay. It was one of the many security features of her daily life, thanks to the big lug whose name will not be spoken of at the moment.
And….that was the end of her Gunner-free moment. Ivy was tired, hungry and itchy, which meant that her self-control was…well, non-existent. So just the thought of the big guy and all of those amazing muscles popped into her mind and they weren’t leaving.
Not that she was trying very hard.
Settling back against the tree, she waited, allowing her mind to drift, entering a fantasy of Gunner walking towards her in…nothing at all. Yeah, if she had her way, the jerk would be naked and…oh, she would love it if he also had tape over his mouth so he couldn’t make fun of her.
As Ivy watched, she thought about all the things she’d love to do to Gunner’s body. And if he was tied down so he couldn’t take over, all the better.
Then again…
The hand covering her mouth startled her out of that particularly nice fantasy. Darn it! How many times had Gunner warned her not to lose her concentration?
Now she was going to learn the hard way what happened when she let her guard down.
The strong arm started to pull her back, but she struggled, digging her nails into the hand covering her mouth. No! She wasn’t going down! Not in this disgusting jungle while watching disgusting men! No way! Thinking back to all the techniques Gunner had taught her, she went slack. It was the hardest thing to do when someone was dragging her. But Gunner had mentioned how a limp body was harder to carry. Any parent with a toddler who had gone all limp knew this. Stiff arms were easier to hold. Limp limps were like noodles and hard to grasp. But going limp was harder than one might think. Terror caused adrenaline to flow, increasing the fight response.
But it worked. The arms holding her loosened when she released all the tension in her body and she heard a deep, guttural growl that sounded vaguely familiar, but she didn’t take the time to dissect her reaction. Instead, she jerked upright and…
The strong arms caught her again, the hand tightening over her mouth. A scruffy cheek rested against hers and…the man’s smell wasn’t horrible. Yes, she smelled sweat and man but…it wasn’t reeking body odor.
“Calm down, Tiger,” Gunner’s voice whispered in her ear.
She stilled. Was her mind playing tricks on her?
“I’m here,” his voice was soothing, barely a whisper in her ear. “I’m going to release you, but I need you to be quiet, okay?”
Ivy nodded, her heart pounding so hard, she was pretty sure he could feel it. Especially since his muscular arm was pressed against her breasts.
Slowly, he released the tension over her mouth and she relaxed, but the moment her mouth was free, she twisted around, looking at him over her shoulder. When his arms loosened as well, she turned around and threw herself into his arms, just as she’d seen Daisy do so many times before, but now it was her arms around him! It was her chest against his hard, masculine one and she grabbed his head, kissing him like she’d done so many times in her dreams and fantasies.
When his lips covered hers, she knew that she’d died and gone to heaven. He tasted even better than she’d imagined! His hands were strong, demanding, and she loved every moment. No, she was no longer in a jungle. She was in Gunner’s arms and he was kissing her!
A bird chirping off in the distance broke through the haze of lust and Gunner pulled back. Both of them were breathing heavily as he looked down into Ivy’s beautiful green eyes. How many times had he seen those eyes? Angry, frustrated, determined…every emotion he could think of, but never had he seen the desire like this. It was like green fire that singed him from the inside out.
The chirping sounded again and he pulled back again. She started to open her mouth but he shook his head, silently telling her to remain silent.
Taking her hand, he led her away from the compound. Thankfully, Ivy understood the need for silence. The jungle noises were loud, but anything that wasn’t normal would be heard over the gentle sounds of birds chirping and wind blowing. So, she carefully stepped over the jungle leaves that littered the ground, stepping only where Gunner stepped and watching the surrounding areas for problems.
When they were sufficiently far enough away, he turned. Pinning her against the nearest tree, he bent to kiss her again, softer this time, but no less demanding. This time, he was in charge and he didn’t relent until she was just as fully engaged as he was.
When he lifted his head this time, her lips were soft and full, almost bruised from the kiss. “What the hell are you doing here, honey?” he demanded quietly, running rough fingers through her hair. She looked hot, exhausted and just as painfully beautiful as always. But now she also looked kissed. By him! Hell, his body was on high alert, ready to take her right here in the rotting vegetation.
Thankfully, his team was around, although he wasn’t sure exactly where. They knew how to remain hidden when they needed to, which was good. He needed some sort of hold on his lust right now. When he made love to Ivy, he wanted absolute privacy. And a bed. Hell yeah! And hours! He wanted hours to spend exploring her body, her long, incredible legs wrapped around his waist as he made love to her over and over again.
Another chirping sound indicated that one of his team members was close enough that he could see what was going on.
With a groan, he lifted her chin with a finger so that he could see into her pretty eyes. “Tell me what you know,” he commanded, taking out a hand-held radio.
Ivy didn’t hesitate. “There are six guards right now. Total of seven vehicles, one of the guards is out on patrol, but the rest already returned from wherever they’d been during the day.” She looked back over her shoulder and saw a hand raised, indicating that there were more of Gunner’s team in the area. She breathed a huge sigh of relief, knowing that a team of Navy SEALs was here, ready and willing to assist. “Do you have a map?”
He pulled out the satellite photos that had been taken yesterday.
She took it and laid it on a nearby fallen tree trunk. “Here,” she indicated, pointing to one of the small buildings on the edge of the compound. “This one holds the prisoners.” She pointed to another. “From what I can see…” she stopped, glancing over her shoulder again as two other men appeared from the jungle. They were both huge, but thankfully, not as huge as Gunner. She didn’t recognize either of them, but Gunner introduced them.
“Ivy, this is my commanding officer and his second, Commander Hanson and Lieutenant Wilson. Sirs, this is Ivy Taylor.”
Both men nodded in greeting. “More about your presence here later,” the CO said crisply, then bent down, pointing at the satellite image. “Tell us what you know.”
Ivy obeyed, as she suspected everyone did when this man gave an order. When Gunner used that tone with her, it got her hackles up and she got pissed off. But when this man used that tone, she nodded obediently.
“This building is where I saw two bandits lead prisoners into, their hands tied. I didn’t see them untie the ropes after they left either.” She pointed to another building. “The rebels go in here to sleep and the lights went out around ten o’clock last night.” She pointed to the third building. “I’m not sure about this one, but I think it’s the kitchen. I haven’t seen anyone eating though.”
“What’s this one?” he asked, pointing to the last building.
“I haven’t seen anyone going in or out of that building, but I’ve only been here for most of the afternoon.”
Two more men melted out of the vegetation and Ivy stepped back, shocked at how big and aggressive everyone looked. Of course, they were all the more menacing with the camouflage paint all over their faces and the huge weapons they carried.
“With this new information,” the CO began issuing new orders, looking at Gunner, “I want you to shift your distractions to this area here,” he pointed to the unknown building. He quickly gave orders to the others, all of whom nodded and moved off, ready to follow his commands. Even as she watched, the other team members faded into the jungle and, within moments, she couldn’t see or hear any of them. As the commander spoke, Ivy realized his plan and had to swallow a giggle at what was about to happen.
They waited only until deep darkness, which made sense and wasn’t as late as it would be in the city. Jungles didn’t have the lights that a city street gave off so when the sun set below the horizon, it was dark. Fast!
The men guarding the compound wouldn’t be expecting something and it was time for the guards to change for the night shift. The guards would just be settling in for the night, not paying attention, and most likely resentful of their new post, further negating their effectiveness. Of course, they wouldn’t be asleep either, which had been her plan, but this is what these men trained for, so she stepped back, letting them do what they did best.
“You’ll be okay here?” Gunner asked.
For a small moment, she panicked, thinking about being left alone again. But then she took a breath. Ivy knew she would be fine. She wasn’t going to be taken off guard again.
She nodded her head, suddenly feeling embarrassed about their kiss. Or kisses, plural. “I’ll be fine,” Ivy offered a smile when he hesitated and she put a hand to his arm. “I’m really glad to see you,” she told him sincerely. “I know your team is here because of the people in that building but still…I hadn’t figured out how to save them. I know that you and your team will be much more effective.”
Gunner realized what she was saying. He wanted to shake her for even thinking about trying to play hero. She didn’t know them, had no idea what they did for a living or where they lived, and yet, she was sitting here in the steamy jungle, trying to figure out how to get them out of that cement prison.
“We’ll discuss that comment later. Right now, stay quiet and be ready when I give you the signal.”
A moment later, Gunner was gone and Ivy looked around, trying to see where the others were. But these men wouldn’t be seen if they didn’t want to be seen. They were well trained to blend in.
And silently! Goodness, if she hadn’t just seen the whole group, she wouldn’t have known that a SEAL team was here, in place and ready to blow stuff up.
Well, Gunner was about to blow stuff up. She knew from listening to Gunner talk about his teammates that each of them had specialized skills. They all were highly trained in SEAL stuff, but one guy was a computer specialist, another could fly or drive anything with an engine, another could booby trap anything with a bobby pin and a balloon, and so on. Gunner’s specialty was explosives, so she crouched down, ready for the bang.
She didn’t move, barely even breathed as she watched and waited. The sun slowly sank lower and then…darkness was almost instantaneous. She could barely see her hand in front of her face, but she continued to remain still and silent, hidden behind heavy foliage, but in a position where she could see everything. Fear was bitter in her mouth and still she remained where she was, waiting.
It happened so suddenly, she jerked, falling on her butt. Flares of orange shot up through the trees wreathed in smoke. Another explosion! And then another. Yelling carried through the night air and Ivy prayed that Gunner and the team would be safe.
It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea what the signal would be. Worry began eating at her as more voices came to her. Machine gun fire and she peeked through the foliage, trying to see what was going on.
Several people were heading her way. They weren’t Navy SEALs, but nor were they the rebels. Nope, these were civilians and she realized that they were the people that had been captured.
“This way,” one of the guys ordered. Suddenly, there were SEALs everywhere! But no Gunner! Where was Gunner? She looked around, stepping back as the men helped the other civilians through the jungle. One guy was having trouble walking, so a big SEAL ran over and simply scooped him up, tossing him over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. He proceeded to carry the guy through the jungle, literally jumping over fallen trees, dodging vegetation. He even paused to call for Ivy to come with him.
She started running, following the others, but she still hadn’t seen Gunner. Where was Gunner?
Running back towards the compound, heart racing, she refused to leave without him. Yes, she knew that he was big enough and bad enough to get out by himself. But he was still human, even though the big guy probably wanted to believe otherwise.
That’s when she saw him. He was crouched down low, setting what looked to be another charge by the vehicles. What he didn’t know was that one of the rebels had spotted him. Ivy was only about ten feet from the man about to shoot Gunner. The world had started blowing up, devolving into chaos, but all Ivy could see was Gunner and this guy with a gun. Suddenly, Ivy realized that the bad guy had her camera bag! And worse, he was lifting a pistol, aiming directly at Gunner!
She screamed, terrified for Gunner who couldn’t see the gun or the man because he was crouched down too low. Frantically looking around, she picked up a broken log and ran towards the man about to shoot Gunner, screaming for him to stop. The sound distracted him and he lost his aim, looking towards Ivy. With all of her might, she swung the log around, knocking the man on the head. He dropped only moments before the vehicles exploded, releasing the camera bag as he fell. One after another, the trucks and jeeps exploded into fiery balls of flame.
Ivy grabbed the canvas bag and looped it over her shoulder, then turned around to head back out. But not before she spotted Gunner and…
Ho boy, he was pissed! The fury in his eyes caused her to turn around and run. This time, Ivy wasn’t sure if she was more terrified of the rebels or of Gunner as he raced behind her. Thankfully, her years of marathon training served her well, and she was able to sprint through the jungle. She spotted one of the other SEALs moments before he too entered the jungle and she headed in that direction.
She’d always thought she was a fast runner, but Gunner caught up to her and they raced together.
As soon as they broke through the jungle onto the beach, she realized what everyone was racing for. There was a big raft floating in the surf with an engine on the back and the SEALs were literally lifting the civilians out of the water and tossing them into the center of the raft.
Shots came from behind them and Ivy ducked as a bullet whizzed by her head. That really pissed her off and she hurried faster, running full out now. The sand slowed her down, but not by much. She wasn’t going to get this far only to be stopped by a bullet! No way!
She could feel Gunner’s breath on her neck as she ran. “Go!” she heard Gunner mutter, but it was so low, she wasn’t sure anyone heard him. She glanced to her left and realized that he’d just spoken into a microphone. Looking out at the water, she realized that the SEALs were gunning the engines. Two of them crouched down over the edge, their weapons trained on the jungle.
Ivy splashed into the water and tossed her canvas bag into the boat. But the raft was pulling away! She couldn’t reach it fast enough to get her body up and over the side. One of the SEALs tossed a rope loop over the side and, with a whoosh, Gunner’s arm wrapped around her waist as he grabbed the loop at the same time.
A moment later, she was pulled along, his arm firm around her waist as the raft zoomed away from the shore. She twisted around, wrapping her arms around his waist so he didn’t need to hold on as tightly. Not that she minded. Not in the least!
As they were pulled out to sea, she looked up, right into the chocolate brown eyes of Gunner. He was no longer angry. But nor could she interpret the look he was giving her. With a shiver of awareness, she held on, her heart pounding from both the excitement of getting away, winning against crazy odds, and the feel of Gunner’s body against her own.
Too soon, one of the SEALs in the boat wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the boat. When she looked back, she marveled at Gunner’s fearsome upper body strength as he pulled himself up and into the boat.
Ivy took a deep breath and leaned back against the bottom of the inflatable boat, looking up into the black sky. She could hear some of the civilians sobbing quietly, others thanking the SEALs for their rescue. A few grunts from the SEALs and then…Gunner was there, pulling her up into his arms.
“Are you okay?” he demanded, his voice rough as he searched her body with equally rough hands. “Any injuries?”
One of the other SEALs was asking the civilians the same question, but that man was being far more polite about it. Normally, she would snap at Gunner for being so rude, but the man had literally just saved her butt.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’m really fine.” She gasped when his hands moved over her breasts and they both froze. She could barely see him, but she could feel the shock that went through him as well. Her breasts weren’t huge like Marilee’s, but they were still breasts and she liked them. Small and round and…well, now she was fairly sure that he could feel her nipples pressing against the material of her shirt. Hard to miss since his hands were still covering her breasts.
The air seemed to sizzle with awareness and she couldn’t move. Ivy was afraid to move, not wanting his hands to shift away.
Then there was movement. A bigger boat appeared out of the darkness and a ladder was lowered. The SEALs helped the civilians climb the ladder. Then it was her turn and she eagerly climbed up with her camera bag once more looped securely around her body. Strong arms lifted her up and over the metal side of the boat and Ivy smiled her thanks. And then Gunner was there, his strong hand wrapped around her upper arm, leading her away from the others.
None of the other SEALs stopped him. None even questioned him as Gunner led her in the opposite direction from the others. She heard that commander-guy ask for someone in particular, heard the other man’s reply, but then Gunner had her moving along some dark, narrow hallway.
He led her all the way to the back of the ship, and pulled her through a metal doorway into…a storage room. It was all he could think of, and as soon as he had the door closed, he pressed her against the wall and kissed her. This wasn’t a leisurely kiss. It was anger and joy, relief and fury. She’d put herself in danger, thinking he needed saving right before that last explosion. He was so angry, he couldn’t even speak. So he kissed her. Lifting her higher, he pressed all of her perfect figure against his, needing to feel all of her, needing to know that she was safe and whole.
When he finally lifted his head, both of them were panting. “Don’t you ever do that again, do you understand?” he demanded. But he didn’t give her a chance to respond because he was kissing her again. His hands slid underneath her tee shirt, unconcerned with the sweat or the smell because she was alive. She was whole and alive and she tasted so incredibly good! And hot damn, she was kissing him! She was kissing him and Gunner couldn’t think beyond the fact that he finally had Ivy in his arms!
His radio squawked and he pulled back. It took him several moments before he could respond to his CO asking him where he’d gone.
“Be there in two,” he muttered into the radio.
And yet, he still stood there, staring down at her.
Finally, he pulled back, setting her back on the floor. “This conversation is not over,” he vowed before he took her hand and led her back to the front of the ship. The CO was making sure that all of the civilians were getting food and medical care.
Gunner cursed under his breath when he saw Ivy pull the protein bar out of her pocket. “Honey, I’m sorry. You’re starving and I’m…” he didn’t finish that sentence, but stopped, turning to face her as his hand cupped the back of her head. “I’ll get you some real food, but are you sure you don’t need a doctor? Were you hurt in any way?”
Ivy tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. That was the sweetest thing he’d ever said to her. Normally, he taunted her, teased her, made her feel a fury so burning hot that she could barely speak. But at this moment, he was protective, his voice soothing.
“I’m fine, thanks to you,” she smiled faintly. “I was going to steal one of the vehicles tonight and try to get some help but…” she trailed off as his eyes turned angry again.
“Do not!” she warned, recognizing the anger, which only fired her temper in response.
“Don’t tell you to be smart?” he snapped in return. “Don’t tell you to not put yourself in danger?”
Ivy wasn’t going to take this, not from him, and certainly not right now. She was too tired and too hungry to argue with him. And damn it, she needed a shower! Stabbing his chest with an accusatory finger, she glared up at him. “Gunner, you put yourself in danger every time you go on a mission. So don’t you dare be a hypocrite now!”
